


Worship Your Body

by QueenKatelynTheAristocrat



Category: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Adorable, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Compliant, M/M, Post-Canon, Post-Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Relationship Advice, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-03 20:48:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17291150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenKatelynTheAristocrat/pseuds/QueenKatelynTheAristocrat
Summary: In which Scorpius has a few unnecessary worries, Teddy Lupin gives some solid relationship advice, and Albus finds some adorable methods of reassurance.





	Worship Your Body

Albus woke from the nightmare slowly. It was one of those terrible realistic ones where you’re still stuck in that terror-filled universe for a few moments, even after you open your eyes. For one disoriented moment, Albus wasn’t sure where he was. In that strange, undefined time between unconscious and conscious, Albus turned his head to the right, expecting to see Scorpius there, sleeping soundly. 

They almost never closed the curtains on the sides of their beds facing each other anymore. 

Almost instantaneously after remembering that he was home for Winter Holiday instead of in the Slytherin Dorms and feeling that familiar wave of loneliness wash over him, his eyes took in the conjured, empty, obviously-slept-in, bed across the room from his, and then remembered that he actually  _ should  _ have seen Scorpius asleep across from him immediately upon waking. 

That was because this year, their parents had finally agreed to allow them to spend half the break together. Albus suspected that it was meant to be a reward for finally admitting to them the true nature of their relationship, even though both of their parents had probably known this was coming for more than a year. 

The Potters had even allowed Scorpus to sleep in Albus’s room -- citing the fact that they spent the entire year sharing a room anyway, though they all knew this was different -- but made quite the show of conjuring the extra bed across the room. Albus figured it was more his parents way of expressing their expectations than an  _ actual _ requirement -- everyone knew he and Scorpius were very serious about each other -- but Scorpius was too afraid of grievously offending his boyfriend’s parents to take advantage of that unspoken freedom. 

Albus was alright with that: if he had it his way they’d have  _ years _ to spend sleeping in the same bed. They could survive the restrictions for now. 

Albus managed about two minutes of waiting patiently for Scorpius to return before he jumped out of bed, put his robe on over his pajamas, and crept silently out of his room and toward the stairs. 

Just as Albus was about to reach the landing where the stairs changed from one direction to the other, he heard the voices of two people sitting at the bottom of the stairs, talking. This was enough to give him pause already, but once he realized who it was, he found himself leaning against the wall, barely out of sight, and straining his ears to catch every word.

“Albus? No, no, things with Albus are perfect.” Scorpius said, and Albus could have sworn he felt his heart melting. 

“Then what’s wrong? I can tell something’s up: I pride myself on my ability to read people, you know.” replied the voice of Teddy Lupin, practically Albus’s brother, who was also staying over for Christmas. 

Scorpius just sighed, and Albus could just imagine him, hugging his legs to his chest and resting his forehead on his knees like he always did when stuck in uncomfortable conversations. Albus wondered if he was going to have to go rescue him. 

“Ah, so I was right. Something is wrong.” Teddy said, in response to the sigh. 

“Nothing’s really  _ wrong,  _ exactly. It’s not that important. And anyway, why do you care?” Scopius asked, and coming from anyone else it might’ve sounded rude, but from Scorpius it was only mild curiosity. 

“Because you’re Al’s boyfriend, that’s why. And it is important, if it’s bothering you.” Teddy answered. 

There was silence for a moment, and Albus could guess that Scorpius was studying him, trying to asses his sincerity. Albus was almost certain what Scorpius would decide: after all, Albus had decided to trust Teddy with his own problems and worries a million times before. 

“It’s very personal.” Scorpius said carefully, and Albus raised his eyebrows.

Teddy’s smirk was audible as he said, “Ah, so then, it  _ is  _ about Al.” 

There was another silence. As it stretched on, Albus began to worry for the first time that this really  _ was  _ about him. He began thinking frantically about what he could have possibly done wrong, but came up with nothing. 

“Sort of.” Scorpius said, and Albus felt his heart drop, “It’s more about me, I guess.” 

Teddy waiting patiently -- and Albus waited anxiously -- for him to continue. “I guess I’m just afraid that he’s not… attracted to me.” 

Albus knit his eyebrows together, wondering where on earth this could be coming from. He’d thought everything was perfectly fine between them. 

Teddy chucked softly, but not maliciously. “Scorpius, you must know that you’re his entire world. You have been since he met you. No one who’s ever seen you two together would doubt that.” 

There was another sigh, then Scorpius said, “I know that he cares for me, I’ve never once thought differently, but what I meant was… I’m afraid that he doesn’t want to… to deepen our physical relationship.” 

There was a tense moment where Albus could imagine his boyfriend curling into himself after such a revelation. He smiled fondly at the thought of Scorpius’s endearing shyness, even as his mind was reeling from the revelation itself. 

“I see. And what makes you think that?” Teddy asked, carefully, somehow sensing that this was a sensitive issue. 

“I’m always too nervous to initiate going any further, and  _ anyway _ we’ve never gone further than… and we’ve only ever done  _ that  _ a couple of times, and… I don’t know what to do.” Scorpius said, all in a rush, as if he’d been holding these doubts inside for a long time. 

Teddy seemed to take a moment to gather his thoughts, then said, “Scorpius, I’m going to say this to you one time, because Al is practically my little brother and I don’t need to think about him and sex in the same context, but I have seen the way he looks at you -- we have  _ all  _ seen the way he looks at you -- and therefore I can tell you with absolute certainty that he is, very much, attracted to you in  _ that way  _ as well, alright? You have no need to worry.” 

Albus couldn’t have said it better himself, although he was absolutely certain he was  _ going  _ to. Scorpius didn’t deserve to have all these worries, especially when Albus was so very blindingly, all-consumingly attracted to him, after all. 

“If that’s true, then why haven’t we…” Scorpius trailed off, still sounding like he needed some reassuring. 

“Have you ever considered that maybe he’s just making sure he doesn’t push you too far, too fast?” Teddy asked, gently. 

“You think he’s waiting for  _ me  _ to initiate?” Scorpius asked. 

“Or at least some sign that this is what you want. Have you ever talked to him about this?” Teddy said. 

Albus could imagine how fast Scorpius was shaking his head. “No, no, no, talking about this stuff is embarrassing.” 

Teddy sighed, and corrected, “It may be embarrassing, but it is also  _ necessary.  _ If you don’t talk to them, how else is your partner supposed to know how you feel?” 

“Albus always knows how I feel.” Scorpius said in a small voice. 

“I felt the same way about Victoire early in our relationship. But trust me, this is different. You need to communicate.” Teddy said, gently but with conviction. 

“Why is this all so difficult?” Scorpius asked, despairingly. 

Teddy sounded fond now as he said, “Relationships are always hard. But something tells me you and Al will figure it out.” 

“That, we always do.” Scorpius responded, and Albus, realizing their conversation was coming to a close, began to walk back up the stairs quietly, and return to his room. 

Once he got there, he curled up in the corner of his bed and tried to process all this new information, and quickly. He could only assume Scorpius was returning at any moment, and Albus figured he had three options. 

The first was to pretend he was still asleep. If he left the lights off, Scorpius might just stumble into the room and collapse onto the other, far side of the room, bed and that could be that. But there was always the chance that Scorpius would see right through him, and then he would look like even more of a guilty eavesdropper than he felt. Besides, that would be as good as ignoring the issue. 

The second was to stay where he was and when Scorpius asked what was wrong only admit to the nightmare. Then Albus could approach the issue at a later, safer time -- probably tomorrow morning -- and admit to having heard the conversation then. There were two problems with this, though. The first was that the nightmare was the furthest thing from Albus’s mind at the moment; he didn’t even remember what it was about. The second was that lying to Scorpius tonight and then telling him the truth tomorrow would be very, very cowardly. 

The third option was to face this head on. 

That was, of course, the scariest option. 

Teddy had been right that Albus was afraid of pushing Scorpius too far. Even when they’d been non-romantic best friends, Scorpius had been a bit reluctant when it came to hugs and such things, and Albus, with his large family, hadn’t really understood this for a long time. 

When they’d first changed the nature of their relationship, Scorpius had been terrified of kissing that just happened to be horizontal rather than vertical. Last time they’d taken a step forward in their physical relationship, Scorpius had been the one to initiate it, that was true. Albus had assumed that since nothing further had been said that Scorpius wasn’t ready for anything more yet. And that was fine with him. Again, if he had his way they would have years together. 

But now, to have it revealed that while he had been waiting for Scorpius to give him some sort of signal, Scorpius had been waiting for some sort of signal from him. But if Scorpius wasn’t able to talk about the next step, was he really ready to take the next step? 

The only thing for it was to trust Scorpius to know what he was and wasn’t ready for. 

Yes, Albus had three options. And he was infinitely aware that he had only moments to decide between them. 

In the end, Albus decided that he was wasting time brooding on this: there was really only one option he was ever going to choose. If there was anything in the world worth taking the more daring risks for, it was Scorpius Malfoy. 

The first thing Albus did was cast a silencing charm on the room. Next, he got up from his bed, walked over to the door, still holding his wand, and turned to face the room. He took a deep breath, determined to get this next spell right. He smiled in relief when the spell did, in fact, combine the two beds in the room into one, rather larger, bed in the center of the room. 

With a bit more confidence, Albus cast two more charms: one to play the sort of soothing classical music he knew Scorpius listened to when he studied, and the other to give the entire room a nice, low glow. If his parents asked why he was casting so many charms in the middle of the night, he would just have to come up with some sort of story. Likely not the real one. 

The only thing left to do was sit in the middle of this giant bed and wait. Anxiously. The best part of all of this was the Scorpius would have no idea what he was walking into until he walked into it -- given the silencing charm -- and therefore, he couldn’t run away in his usual method of avoidance. 

Of course, the waiting was the worst part. Albus supposed he should be using the time to plan what exactly he was going to do when Scorpius walked in the door, but he was too busy waiting anxiously to do so.

When Scorpius did finally walk back in, his expression was one of such comical wide-eyed confusion, that Albus almost laughed.  

“Albus, what is this?” he asked, still standing with the door open. Albus gestured for him to close the door. He did so. 

“Just come here.” Albus said, and smiled at Scorpius’s incredulous eyebrow raise. 

When Albus did not speak again, Scorpius reluctantly walked over to the bed and sat at the edge of it, facing Albus. 

Albus just smiled, shook his head, and said, “Come here.” and opened his arms. 

Scorpius was smiling this time as he asked again, “What is this?” 

Albus just waiting, making it clear that he would only get answers if he  _ listened.  _

Eventually, Scorpius gave in, launching himself into Albus’s arms. Albus pulled him close immediately and kissed him, with enough intensity that Scorpius seemed shocked, but not at all unwilling, which was exactly what Albus wanted. 

After a moment, Albus pulled back just far enough to say, “I love you.” 

Scorpius seemed to search his eyes for answers, and Albus watched his expression tighten as he grew frustrated with the fact that he couldn’t find them. “I love you, too. What is this?” 

Albus flipped them so that Scorpius was lying on his back, and moved so that he was hovering over him. He kissed him again, and as Scorpius’s hands tangled in his hair, he found himself very glad that his boyfriend no longer found horizontal so terrifying. 

“This is me showing you how much I want you. Just in case you ever forget.” Albus said, and as he reconnected their mouths, he carefully untucked Scorpius’s shirt and ran fingers across his skin. 

It only took Scorpius a moment to realize, and Albus knew exactly when he did because his entire body tensed up. Albus allowed his eyes to be studied once more. “You heard that conversation, didn’t you?” 

Albus brought his legs up to straddle Scorpius's hips: he figured they’d be discussing this for a while. “Yes.” he admitted, “But not on purpose. I had a nightmare and went to find you and then… couldn’t stop listening?” 

Scorpius’s eyes had gotten wider and wider with each word, and now he looked properly terrified. “Oh Merlin, this is very humiliating.” he said, throwing an arm over his eyes. 

Albus leaned down and kissed Scorpius’s wrist before taking his hand and gently removing his arm. “No, it’s very  _ important.  _ You need to talk to me about these things.” 

“I was going to. Eventually.” Scorpius answered, sheepish. 

“Were you now?” Albus teased, good naturedly. 

“Maybe?” Scorpius answered, well-aware of his white lie. 

“Either way, now you don’t have to. What I really want to know is: did you mean it?” Albus asked. 

Scorpius scrunched his eyebrows together. “That I was afraid that you didn’t--” 

Albus cut him off. “No, no. That you want to go further.” 

“Oh.” Scorpius hesitated only a moment, the longest moment of Albus’s life, then nodded. 

Albus smirked. “In that case…” he leaned forward, slowly and sensually, and whispered in Scorpius’s ear, “Scorpius Malfoy, please let me worship your body.” 

Scorpius shivered, which was exactly what Albus wanted, and whispered back, “Wow, alright, what does that entail exactly?” 

“I’m not sure yet. I’m certain I can figure it out.” Albus replied, eyes blazing passionate green fire. Scorpius shivered again, and the way he was looking at him made Albus want to shiver as well. 

How Scorpius ever could have doubted Albus’s desire for him, Albus had no idea. 

“Are you sure this isn’t a dream?” Scorpius asked him. 

Albus hovered over him for another kiss, and right before their lips connected he said, “Does this feel like one?” 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scorpius woke again sometime very early in the morning. Albus’s charms had worn off, and the room was dark again, and silent except for Albus’s deep breathing. Their legs were twined together, and their clothes were strewn across the floor. Albus’s hair was messier than he’d ever seen it. 

It was times like these when Scorpius was most grateful for Albus’s existence, but even more so that particular night. He still didn’t quite understand how or why Albus Potter was so attracted to him, but at least now he no longer doubted that he was. 

And probably never would again. 

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and Comments make my day! <3


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